


Not My Girl

by lanalucy



Series: Some Other Beginning's End [5]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, Angst, Awkward Conversations, Break Up, Caretaking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Eskimo Kisses, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Healthy Relationships, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Menstruation, Multi, Polyfidelity, Relationship Negotiation, Roleplay, Showers, Siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-24
Updated: 2014-01-12
Packaged: 2017-12-24 11:53:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/939707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lanalucy/pseuds/lanalucy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens next.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks and hugs to newnumbertwo for the beta and encouragement on this one.

Lee was holding Kara’s hand, tugging her along excitedly.  “Look at this one!  This is the best example of Old Tauron style woodcarving I’ve seen outside of trips to visit Uncle Sam on Tauron.  This is fantastic!”

On Kara’s other side, Zak pretended to snore.

“Wow, Lee.  I didn’t know I was getting a history teacher for a boyfriend.  Truthfully -” she moved into his side, “- this -” she gave him a waggly-browed onceover, “ - is the best example of Tauron woodcarving I’ve seen.”

Lee looked surprised for a minute, then he murmured something and kissed her heatedly.

“I swear, I cannot take you guys anywhere.  Is there any place you won’t make out?”

Kara let go of Zak's hand and flipped him the bird.

“Nice, Kara.  If you’re going to kiss in public, you have to hold my hand, though.  It’s a rule.  It’s the only way I can guarantee you guys will stay PG.”

She stopped kissing Lee long enough to say, “Frak PG!  Are we done antiquing?”  She lowered her voice to a whisper.  “This is making me horny.”

She looked chagrined when Lee and Zak both laughed and said, “Is there anything that doesn’t?”

“You wanna play that way?  Fine.  When we get home, neither one of you are getting any.  I’ll do it myself.”  This time she laughed.  “Yeah.  Thought you might see it my way.”

*&*

Kara shut the door behind her and heard someone puttering in the kitchen.  “Who’s home?”

“Kara?” Lee called out.  He came out of the kitchen and met her at the bottom of the stairs.  “What are you doing home in the middle of the day?”

“I didn’t ask.  Got an email from on high that dismissed all classes and sent everybody home.  Suddenly I’m very glad they did.”  She hugged into him.  “What are you doing home in the middle of the day?”

“Lab got dismissed.  Some kind of trouble with the defense mainframe.”

“I’m going to get out of my uniform.  After that, wanna sit on the couch and neck like teenagers? Or do you have something going in the kitchen?”

“I’ll put it away and meet you on the couch.”

“It’s a date.”

~~~

“Mmm.  This is fun, Lee.  When was the last time we just made out?”

“I don’t remember.  We should do this more often.  It’s a lot more fun without an audience of six-year-olds and their disapproving mothers.”

Kara laughed.  “Those children did not belong in that movie.  It was rated R, for frak’s sake.”

“Those kids are not in this room, so we can make out all we want.”

“Good point.  Back to it, then.”

*&*

Zak held up a music chip.  “Vivaldi.  Sounds like the name of a girl’s body part.”  

Predictably, Kara spoke up, “Gods, Zak.  You are such a child.  Vivaldi is classical music.”  She spotted the grin on his face.  “And you knew exactly who he was, you little frakker.  You just wanted to push my buttons.  Lee, you’re closer to him.  Hit him for me.”

Lee put his hands in the air.  “No way.  You guys want to hit each other, you can do it yourselves.  You’re vicious!”  He laughed as he fled the aisle in fake terror.  “I’ll be over here with Puddle of Mudd or Nine Inch Nails.”

*&*

Kara sat looking at the table she’d set, the dinner she’d prepared, and wondered where Zak was.  He wasn’t answering his phone - it was actually going straight to voice mail - and he was supposed to have been home over an hour ago.  Lee had told her last week that he was going to have to be out of town for Zak’s birthday, so Kara had finagled a day off for this - shopping for Zak’s favorite foods, making sure she had all the ingredients for the cake he liked.  Those cherry chips for the cake had been hard to find.  Since the opportunity had presented itself, she’d wanted something special for his birthday - just the two of them.  It had all turned out so well.  And she was _wearing_ the other stuff she’d bought for him.

The phone rang, and Kara rushed over to answer it, hoping it was Zak and not...never mind.  “Kara,” came Lee’s frak-me voice over the line.  “I had a minute so I thought I’d call and tell Zak Happy Birthday.”

Kara tried to keep the hurt out of her voice.  “He’s not home yet.  Guess you’ll have to tell him when you get back from your trip.”

“Actually, they’re cutting this training short.  Two of the instructors have come down with some horrible flu - one’s in intensive care - and no one else is qualified to cover their topics.  If you’re willing to pick me up, I’ll get on the next transport.”

Kara sighed and cleared her throat.  “I’d love for you to come home, Lee,” she said quietly.  

“Kara?  What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, Lee.  Just come home.  Let me know as soon as you know what time your transport will arrive.  I’ll be there.”

Lee rushed off the phone to fix his travel arrangements, and since no one was home to see it, Kara let herself cry while she put everything away.  She was tempted to just toss it all, but then someone (Lee) would notice and ask about all the food in the trash, and she wasn’t up to explaining it.  Maybe tomorrow when the boys were gone, she could take it all down the hall to that ensign - he was married and already had a kid, so he could probably use the food.  She’d have to say it just right, though.  No one knew stubborn pride better than she did.

When Lee strode off the transport into the main area of the transfer station, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him.  Tight.  “Gods.  I’m so glad you’re home early.”  She leaned up and kissed him sweetly, then her face changed in the blink of an eye.  “Wanna ride, soldier?”  She grabbed his ass.  “I bet after being away from home so long, you’ve got a lot of tension to work off.”

Lee held out his hand to her, “Apollo.”

“Apollo, huh?  Kay.”  Kara took him in from top to bottom, then walked around him for the full effect.  “I can definitely see why they named you after a god.”  She leaned in closer again and whispered, “Can you live up to that in the sack, soldier boy?”

“Try me, Kay.  I have a satisfaction guaranteed policy.  You’re not satisfied, I do it again and again until I get it right.”

“Well, then, Apollo, grab your bags.  You’re about to get frakked out of your mind.”

*&*

“What difference did it make, Lee?  It was my birthday, and I didn’t think she had anything planned, and I knew you’d be home, so she wouldn’t miss me.  It was a great night!”

“Did you forget your phone somewhere, Zak?  She called you all night.  And since when does a great night last well into the next afternoon?  And since when would your girlfriend not miss you on your godsdamn birthday?”

“I never even heard my phone ring.”  He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at it.  “Dead.”  He grinned at Lee, but faltered when Lee didn’t smile back.  “Ooops.”

“I guess you also forgot that I was out of town for that War School seminar.  Kara sat home alone, all night, staring at the dinner she made you, wondering where you were, if you were okay.  On your BIRTHDAY!  It’s just sheer luck that I was able to come home early.”

“Gods, Lee.  I’m sorry!  I’ll apologize to her.  Is that what you want?”

“Zak, it isn’t about me.  None of this, from the very beginning of it, has ever been about me.  If you’re going to apologize to her, why don’t you make damn sure you know exactly what it is you’re apologizing for.”

*&*

Something had changed between the three of them, and Zak wasn’t sure what it was.  It had happened after his birthday, after Lee had berated him for partying all night with friends.  He was home today because he knew that Kara would be gone overnight for flight quals and Lee wouldn’t be home for hours.

He turned on the TV and the video recorder in the bedroom, not sure if he would find any answers here, but there _was_ something new.  He searched back to the night of his birthday.   _There_.  He turned up the volume.

Kara was sitting on the end of the bed, her head down.  He could hear Lee moving in the room, and the time stamp was 0300.  Lee must’ve gotten on the first transport he could find.

_“Hey.  What’s wrong?_

_“It’s nothing.”_

_“Don’t give me that.  I could tell when I called you earlier.  Where’s Zak?”_

_Kara’s face crumpled.  “I have no idea.   I’ve been calling him all night.  I’ve put off calling the police or the hospitals.  I was afraid of what they might say.”_

_Lee pulled her in and hugged her tight.  “I’m sure he’s fine, babe.”_

Zak watched her face change completely as she stood up.  She turned her back to the camera, and her voice was different too.  

_“So, Apollo.  What about this satisfaction guaranteed policy you were bragging about?  Was that just so much talk?”_

_“Not all talk, Kay.  Over and over until I get it right.  Over and over even if I get it right.”_

“Kay?  What the frak?”

_Lee stood up and kissed Kara, and his hands crawled up her back, under her shirt._  

Zak could see when Lee popped her bra open.  She dropped her head back and Lee kissed her neck.

_Kara breathed out, “Over and over again, huh?”_  

Zak watched Lee leer at her.   _“Frakked out of my mind?”_

_“Absolutely.  You will not be able to think when I’m done with you, soldier boy.”_

“Soldier boy?”  What the hell are they doing?  Zak kept watching as long as he could stand.  Maybe it should have been hot, like it sometimes was when he watched them frakking in the bed next to him, or listened to them when he wasn’t quite awake, but there was something different about them here.  He fast-forwarded until the scene changed, then rewound a bit.

_Lee flopped back onto the pillow behind him with the attitude of a completely satisfied man.  “Gods, that was fantastic!”_

_“Must have lost my touch, Apollo.  You can still string words together.”  Kara draped herself across Lee and kissed him, seemingly without much intent._

_“Huh?”_

_Kara laughed.  Her face changed in the blink of an eye.  “Lee?”_

_“Hmm?  I’m Lee again, huh?”  His hand stroked up and down her naked back._

_“Lee.”  Kara was more insistent._

_“I’m listening, Kara.  Really.”_

_“You know I love you, right?  This is not just curiosity, something I thought up so I could get away with frakking my boyfriend’s brother.  You know that, right?”_

_Lee opened his eyes.  “Yeah, Kara.  I know.  I love you, too.”_

Zak watched them kiss in a way he’d never seen them kiss - intimate, emotional, like they were saying something to each other that no one else could hear.   _Has Kara ever told me she loved me without me saying it first?_  He clicked the video playback off.  Whatever had happened the night of his birthday, whatever he’d just watched, it had affected the entire balance of the relationship between the three of them.

He’d noticed something while he was watching them:  they didn’t talk much while they were frakking, not like he and Kara did.  Lee just seemed to know what was going to turn her on, where his hands needed to be, when to touch her somewhere or not to do something.  For a couple who’d only been frakking a few months, they were remarkably in sync with each other.  And this whole Kay and Apollo thing had completely thrown him.  What the hell was _that_ about?

There was a message for him in this, if he could just stop thinking and let it come to him.  He occupied himself with copying the video to a chip and erasing it from the recorder.  Then he turned off the motion activation setting.  It had served its purpose.

*&*

Zak woke her up ridiculously early with hurried kisses, and she thought seriously about killing him for it, especially after he got his and jumped out of bed to shower, leaving her not quite there.   _What the frak?_  She lay there wanting to go back to sleep, but much too wired to do so. _I love him.  I really do, but ever since his birthday, he’s been acting weird, and to not even notice that I hadn’t come?_  She heard the front door shut and turned toward the noise, catching Lee’s profile in the process.   _In the meantime, I do have a boyfriend right here, who happens to be a morning person._  

Kara crawled under the blankets to wake Lee up ‘properly.’  He was kind enough to return the favor.  Twice.   _Frak, yeah.  If I could start every day like that, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, getting up at the buttcrack of dawn._  

*&*

Zak paid closer attention after watching that video.  If it hadn’t opened his eyes, he might have continued to overlook the differences, but he couldn’t now.

If they were all watching TV and Kara fell asleep, she always fell toward Lee.  If both boys made a suggestion for what kind of takeout to get, she almost always chose Lee’s.  When she was in trouble or needed help, she called Lee.  If Zak was fair, which he didn’t particularly want to be, that had started a long time ago, back when she couldn’t list a student as her next of kin, or call a student to come bail her out of jail.  And she still couldn’t, but he resented that she never even seemed to think about calling him.  In bed at night, once Kara was asleep, she naturally curled toward Lee, even if she’d snuggled up to Zak after frakking.  If Zak did something she didn’t like, she didn’t complain any more, not even jokingly.  If he failed to follow through, like with the dishes or taking out the trash, she either did it herself or asked Lee.  

Hell, the other morning, he’d left her all wound up, ready to come, and she still hadn’t said a word about it.  Before Lee, she would have handcuffed him to the bed until he finished her off, and then would have made him do it again.  

She didn’t seem to notice she was doing it.  Lee certainly didn’t seem to notice.  But now that he knew to look for _something_ , Zak noticed it all.  He just didn’t know what it meant.

*&*

“ _That’s_ what you’re wearing tonight?”  Zak sounded incredulous.

“Yeah.”  Suddenly Kara was self-conscious.   _It’s not like I wear a dress every day.  Maybe I forgot something._  “I look stupid, don’t I?  Frak.  I don’t have time to change before Lee gets back.”

Zak looked at her quizzically.  “You don’t look stupid, Kara.  Gods, no!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress, is all.  You look hot.”  He walked over to her, turned her around to the mirror.  “See?”  He held her chin in one hand, forcing her to look at herself.  “This dress fits you like a glove, and everybody there is going to want a piece of you.”

“Oh, gods.  It’s too sexy?  I wasn’t trying to be sexy.  Dammit.”  Kara wiggled free of him and started pacing, looking sideways at the mirror periodically.

_Frak.  I can’t say anything right tonight.  Doesn’t matter, I guess.  Lee’ll fix it.  He always knows exactly what she needs to hear._

When Lee came through the door minutes later, Zak sighed in relief, and Kara picked up her tiny bag and headed for the living room.

“Wow.  You look beautiful, Kara.”

“It’s not too much, is it, Lee?   Too sexy?”

“It’s definitely sexy, but no, not too much.  You look - elegant.”

She brightened.  “Really?  I’ve never been elegant before.”  She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder and smiled.  “Elegant.”  She shook her head.  “Thanks, Lee.”

He bent his head closer and whispered, “But I’ll be wondering all night when I can bring you back home and find out what you’re wearing underneath it.”

_Maybe I should wear a dress more often._

They passed Zak on the way out the door and Kara reached up and kissed him on the mouth.  “See ya later, boyfriend.”

_Beautiful.  Elegant.  Why couldn’t I think of that?  And why is that so much better than hot, anyway?_

*&*

Zak was holding Kara’s hand, and whatever was in his eyes was already breaking her heart.  She gave herself a good mental shove and straightened her shoulders.  

“I don’t even know how to say this, Kara.”

“You’re breaking up with me.  Us.”  She could see the truth flash in his eyes before he looked at their hands instead.

“Yeah.  I am.”  

“Is it because I made you let Lee in?  Because you and I - we’re never alone anymore?”  She struggled to keep her voice even.  “We could talk to him about me splitting my time between the two of you.”  She hated the very idea.

“Oh, Kara, no.  I mean, yeah, it took a little adjusting to have my brother here all the time, kissing my girlfriend, frakking my girlfriend, but I can see he loves you, and you seem happier since we did this.  Besides, you may think I was completely blind to the two of you before, but neither of you are that subtle, and how could he not be just as in love with you as I was?”

“Was?”  Her voice was carefully even.

“I love you, Kara.  I always will.”  He looked at her earnestly.  “I’ve just come to realize that I’m not _in_ love with you.  It’s not something that happened overnight, but it’s changed for me.  You and Lee are ridiculously in love with each other, and maybe without me here, you can explore that.  Okay?”

Kara nodded at him, numb.  Later, when she noticed that he’d left, she curled up on his side of the bed and cried herself to sleep.

Lee woke her up for dinner.  “Hey.  Zak get called for a last-minute training exercise?”  He had no idea what to do when she flung herself into his arms.

*&*

Kara had fallen asleep again after refusing to eat, and while Lee was putting away whatever could be salvaged, and cleaning up in general, he noticed that a lot of Zak’s stuff was gone.   _Godsdamn him.  If he’s the reason she’s upset, I might have to beat him.  He picked up the phone to call his cell._

“Zak?  What did you do?  She was asleep when I got home, she wouldn’t eat dinner, she cried herself to sleep without telling me anything, and a lot of your stuff is gone, and what the frak did you do to my girl?”  By the end of it, he was yelling into the phone.

There was a moment of silence on the line before Zak said, “That’s kinda what happened, Lee.  She’s _yours_ , not _ours_.  She might’ve been my girlfriend when we started this, but she’s not in love with me, and she is hopelessly, madly in love with you.  You remember what I said way back, when I jumped on you in your apartment?  About the way she looked at you?  That’s never changed, Lee, and she has never looked at me that way.  I love her and I always will.  I just deserve someone who’s in love with me the way she’s in love with you.”

Lee sighed, completely clueless how to respond.

Zak’s voice was quiet when he continued.  “I didn’t tell her all that.  I just told her the bare truth - that I would always love her, but I wasn’t in love with her anymore.”

“Zak...”

“Lee, I promise.  In a few weeks, she’ll be fine.  I’m not gonna drop off the face of the planet.  Well, I might stay away for a little bit - she doesn’t need the constant reminder, and she’s not easy to resist.  If I stick around, I’ll give in.”


	2. Chapter 2

Lee came home one evening to find Kara curled up into a ball on the bed, her face pinched, holding her middle.  He called out softly, “Kara?”

“Lee.  Get undressed and get over here.”  Her voice shook a little as she said it.

“That doesn’t sound like your usual invitations, Kara,” but he started pulling off his clothes anyway.  When he was down to boxer briefs, he crawled across the bed to get behind her.  She snatched at his arm and shoved his hand into her sweats.  

“What am I supposed to be doing here, Kara?”

“Cramps, Lee.”  She blew out an unsteady breath.  “I need a heating pad and you’re elected.”

“Oh.  What do you want me to do, then?”

She moved his hand back and forth under her sweats until she had it just where she wanted it.  “Right there.  Just hold it right there.  A little pressure, even.”  He spread out his hand and she groaned.  “Yes.  Your hands are so warm, Lee.  Getting better already.”

“Have you taken something?”

“Nothing left in the house.  No idea how we managed to run out of pain relievers, and I am frakking pissed that my heating pad is missing.  Put them both on the list.”

“Okay.”

They lay there silent for a few minutes before Lee tentatively said, “Kara?”

“Yeah?”

“What about -?”  He pushed his pinkie finger down farther than the rest of his hand, into her pubic hair.

“Lee!  I’m on my period.  Can’t it wait?”  

“Not like that, Kara.  Gods.  I’ve heard some of the women in my squadron talk about how orgasms block the pain for a little while.  Maybe it’d be long enough for you to fall asleep.  I could run to the drugstore - get the stuff you need, some chocolate.  How are you doing on your other stuff?”

“My tampons, you mean?”  He could hear the teasing in her voice.  

“Yeah, Kara, your tampons.”  

“I should have enough for a couple of days.  You can get some if you want.  You should probably tear off the top of the box so you know what to get.”

“I can do that.”  He wiggled his finger.  “You want me to try?”

“You really want to do this, Lee?  I’m not returning the favor, you know,” she added tiredly.

“I’m not expecting anything.  Just wanna see if it works, makes you feel better.”

“I guess.  It’s just weird.”

“So?” he asked again.

“Yeah.  Go ahead.”

It was nothing like their usual play.  He didn’t kiss her or play with her breasts.  He wasn’t trying to turn her on.  He just used his fingers and thumb on her clit until she came.  Even her orgasm was low-key.  “Frak, Lee.”

“What?  Was it okay?”  He sounded worried.

She stretched out a little, turned her head back to kiss him.  “Yeah, Lee, it was okay.  Cramps are a little better.  Why did I not know this before?”

“Well, we know now.”

“Yeah.  I think I’m gonna sleep now.”  She yawned.

He snuggled her up tighter and nuzzled into her hair.  “I love you, you know.”

“I know.  Me, too.”

As soon as she was asleep, he threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and walked to the drugstore around the corner.   _Two of everything.  Not that I minded relieving her pain myself.  And chocolate.  She’s gonna want chocolate._   He couldn’t figure out which kind of heating pad she’d like, so he just got one of every kind they had.  The clerk looked at him funny until he put the boxes of tampons on the counter, and then she smiled.  He thought the total wasn’t enough, but was more focused on getting home to Kara than how much got charged to his debit card.  When he looked at the receipt later, he noticed that the woman had given him the employee discount.  

~*~

Cleaning up after dinner one day, Kara felt tears running down her face, and she sniffled as she wiped her face on her arm.  She had to stop messing with the dishes for a minute because it just overwhelmed her suddenly.   _Zak’s gone.  He left me._

Lee came in while she was standing there and noticed her tears when he stuck some more dishes into the sink.  “Hey.  What’s wrong?”

Kara shrugged.  “I just miss him, Lee.  Are we ever gonna be friends again?”

He hugged her.  “Probably. It’s going to take some time - you’ll have to be patient.”

She laughed softly.  

“Yeah, I know.  Not exactly your strength, huh?”  He put a finger under her chin.  “He said he’d be back, just not right away.  If he stayed, he wouldn’t be able to make the break stick, and he needed to do that.”

“I hurt him, too, then,” she said sadly.

“Kara, we all went into this not having a clue what was going to happen.  Zak was just grown up enough to see that he wasn’t happy with it and to do something about it.  I’m actually kind of proud of him for that.”  He nodded toward the sink.  “You about done?  We could watch TV in bed.”

“I can leave the rest ‘til tomorrow.  Can we...can you just hold me?  I don’t want to - you know?”

“I know.  I miss him, too.  That bed’s awfully big without him in it now.”

She sniffed again, giving him a weak grin through her grief.  “Not too big, though.  Right?”

“Nah.  I think we’ll manage to use every square inch of it somehow.  Come on.”

She looked at him seriously for a moment.  “I love you, you know.  I miss him, but part of me is glad he’s gone, too.  I really love it being just the two of us for a while.”

He walked her toward the bedroom.  “Yeah.  Me, too.”

~*~

Zak was out at the Riverwalk Marketplace one Sunday afternoon weeks later, and the husky tone of a laugh caught his attention.   _Kara!_   His eyes panned the area until he found her.  He quickly stepped behind a rack full of stylized Aquarian t-shirts to avoid them seeing him. _I was right.  They look happy together.  She’s quiet but she’s...glowing.  And Lee.  I don’t remember ever seeing him like this.  It’s like joy is radiating out of them both._   Sadness rose in Zak at the thought that he’d never brought that out in Kara, that he’d complicated the relationship between the two of them for so long before he’d noticed.

As he snuck out the side of the booth, the old woman who ran it raised a hand to his cheek and said, “Don’t be sad about it.  She needed you to love her before she could be happy with him.  You are still important to her, will always be important to her.”

He stared at her for a moment.  She nodded her head and went about her business as if she’d never spoken.

~*~

_Frak!_   Kara kept walking, peeking around the people in front of her.   _It is him._   She slowed her pace, wondering if she was ready to see Zak in person.  There’d been a couple of stilted phone conversations when Zak had called to talk to Lee, but otherwise, she and Zak hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since the night he’d left.  Unfortunately, no matter how slowly she walked, she couldn’t escape the fact that she was headed to the same place Zak had just walked into - the drycleaner.  She mentally poked herself, squared her shoulders, and strode into the cleaners as if she didn’t have a care in the world.  

She stood in the line, two or three people behind Zak, agonizing over what to say to him.  It didn’t matter much, because as he walked away from the counter with his uniforms, he caught sight of her.  He faltered, not enough for anybody but Kara to notice, and stopped a few feet away.  

“Lieutenant Thrace.”  He nodded a greeting.

“Cadet Adama.  Picking up your dress uniform?”   _Wow, Kara.  That’s scintillating._

Zak looked away from her and nodded again.  “Next week’s the thing, with the President and the Quorum.  I made Honor Squad.”

“That’s fantastic, Zak!”  For a moment, Kara forgot herself and reached forward to hug Zak, but pulled herself back when he stepped away.  She hugged her arms tighter and asked, “Does Lee know?  He hasn’t said anything to me about going.  What about your parents?  Will they be in town for it?”

Zak shook his head.  “I just found out this morning.  I haven’t had a chance to tell anyone.  I doubt Dad’ll be able to make it on such short notice, but maybe Mom’ll come in for it.”

“I can tell Lee if you want.”  She hesitated before continuing, “Would you rather I stayed away?  Would it be easier if it’s just you guys and your mom?”

“If you wanna tell Lee, you can.  I’ll call him later, anyway, give him the details.”  He moved with her when she stepped forward in the line.  “I know what you want to hear, but I don’t think I can do that yet, Kara.  I’m sorry.”

She kept her face carefully neutral, even as she put her hands behind her back and dug her nails into her palms.  “It’s okay, Zak.  That’s why I asked.  I’ll let you tell Lee - you can surprise him.”  

She was saved from saying anything further when the counter clerk called out, “Lieutenant Thrace!”  She examined her uniforms, paid the bill, and when she looked around again, Zak was long gone.

~*~

Kara had been unusually quiet since he’d gotten home, and Lee wondered whether this was one of those times when he should push her to talk, or when he should let her figure it out and come to him when she had.  She’d finished putting away their leftovers and told him she was going to take a shower when the phone rang.  Kara jumped, then looked at the phone as if it could bite her, and walked right past it.   _I’m gonna have to talk to her.  Something’s going on._

“Adama,” he barked into the phone.

“Lee?  Hey.  There’s a thing next week at the Academy, and I wondered if you wanted to attend.  It’s open for family members who’ve been vetted by the Fleet.”

“What thing?  Oh, you mean the President’s visit?  Wait - does that mean you made Honor Squad?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Zak was oddly subdued for the subject matter, and Lee put his mood and Kara together.  “Zak, did you run into Kara today?”

He heard a long sigh on the other end of the phone.  “Yeah.  At the drycleaner.  It was awkward.  Did she tell you already?”

“She’s been pretty quiet since I got home.  I wondered what was wrong.  Are you okay?”

Zak answered, “I’m fine.  Or I will be.  It was hard, seeing her again.  I still love her, and it was really difficult to keep from falling into our normal pattern.  But I know it’s going to be better this way.  For all of us.”

Lee was silent for a moment.  “Zak - I’m really proud of you.  I didn’t tell you this at the time, but I know it was hard to realize that things were wrong between you and Kara and to do something about it - make the break.  I’m not sure I could have done it.  Not with Kara.”

“Maybe the hardest thing I ever did, Lee.  Kara’s special.  I want her to be happy.  I want you both to be happy.  This is the only way that can happen.”

“She is special,” Lee affirmed.  “So, you’ll send me the details on the thing next week?”

“Yeah.  I’ll forward you the email we got from the Commandant.”

“Great.  I’ll talk to you later, then.  Love you, Zak.”

“Man, you are mushy tonight, Leland,” Zak’s voice was a little cheerier.  “I love you, too.”

~*~

Lee stood outside the bathroom, listening to Kara crying in the shower.  She probably thought the water drowned out the sounds she was making, but Lee could hear her sniffling.  He stripped down and got into the shower behind her.  “Hey.”  He put his arms around her.

“Hey.”

“I talked to Zak about the thing next week.”

“Yeah?  You’re gonna go, right?  It’s a huge thing that he made Honor Squad.”  She turned her upper body around to look at him.

“Yeah.  I’ll go.  So, this is what’s had you upset since I got home?  You talked to him today, too?”

She nodded without looking at him.  “He asked me not to come, Lee.  I know it’s his choice, and I asked, because I wanted to be sure he’d be okay with me there, but it still hurts.  I love him, and this is so hard.”  She turned around and put her arms around his neck, tucking her head under his chin.  “I really miss him.”

He rubbed circles on her back.  “I know you do.  I do, too.  I know it’s different for you, because he was your boyfriend, but I don’t see him as much now, either.”  He reached behind her for the shampoo, and walked her back into the shower spray.  “Want me to wash your hair?”

“Mmm,” she groaned quietly.  “Gods, I love it when you wash my hair. Are you going to do that thing with your fingers?”

“At your service, milady.”

She pushed his chest and snorted.  “Milady.  What a crock.  But I’ll still let you wash my hair.”

After they were both clean, Lee wrapped her in a towel and pushed her compliant form toward the bed.  Kara had always been so self-sufficient, he relished the few opportunities she gave him to take care of her, do things for her.  He doubted she knew how much pleasure it gave him when she just accepted his love without fighting it.

He pushed her down, pulling the towel from around her.  He took his time, gently and thoroughly drying her off.  He was pretty sure she was about to drop off.  “Hey.  You want underwear, or you want to sleep naked?”

She smiled up at him sleepily.  “Skin.  I want skin, Lee.”

“Okay.  Be right back.”  He straightened up the bathroom, hanging the towels over the hamper so they wouldn’t get mildewy overnight.  When he came back, Kara had pulled the covers down and snuggled into the middle of the bed.  He climbed in after her and pulled her in close.  “This feels good.”

She wrapped herself up in his arms and nodded her head.  “Yeah.”  She kissed his neck, breathing in his scent.  “It’s nice.”

He loosened his hold enough to pull away and tilt her chin up.  He kissed her, slow and easy, just moving their lips together, then rubbed his nose against hers, kissed the tip of her nose and tightened his arms again.  “Love you,” he said, but he was pretty sure she was already asleep.


End file.
